Theme

General

Age Range

7-18

Type

Activities

Number of Participants

10+

Timescale

10-15 minutes

Quick overview

Young people are given a statement and must decide whether they agree or disagree before defending their decision. Great activity for starting discussion-based tasks.

Supplies you’ll need

None.

Prep

Ensure that you have a clear space in the centre of your room where the whole group can stand and move unrestricted to either side of the room.

Leading the Activity

Have the entire group stand in the middle of the room and explain that you are going to say a statement and they have to decide whether they agree or disagree with the statement.

Explain that if they agree with the statement they must move to one side of the room and, if they disagree, they must stand on the other. Ensure you designate which side of the room is which so that the group does not become confused.

Start with lighter topics like: Cadburys is better than Galaxy: Agree or Disagree; Star Wars is better than Marvel: Agree or Disagree; Cats are better than dogs: Agree or Disagree etc.

When individuals have made up their mind and moved to the area, the leader of the activity can ask volunteers on each side to explain their choice and try and convince the other side to join them. It is important as leader to ensure everyone is listened to and not spoken over.

Asking about five different topics normally is a good standard practice as it keeps things moving while also beginning to engage their speaking and listening skill.

The further you go into the activity the closer to the theme of your overall day you can make the questions. For example, if the overall theme for a session or day was to be ‘Being a Good Catholic’, the first two or three questions you ask could be very light topics about food or TV, while the last two or three could go gradually deeper like ‘Going to mass makes me a better person: Agree or Disagree’, ‘Prayer should be an important part of every day: Agree or Disagree’ etc.

Objective

The aim of this activity is to help particularly those in the middle of secondary school learn the skills that will help them to see others points of view, discuss and debate in a non-hostile way and make up well informed opinions while still respecting those with views counter their own.

God Link

This is a great activity for pre-faith based discussions.